Stronghold 3 is a work in progress due to the patches, but it is one solid game that shouldn't be ignored.
Stronghold 3 fell flat on its face when it initially released, but thanks to weekly patches, it is almost back on its feet. What caused the many, many, many bugs to go unrestrained, no one will ever know. But enough about the initial release trouble; be advised that this review may require changes as the patching is still ongoing, but for now don a sword and helm and come with me into the world of Stronghold 3. Oh, and be careful of that diseased cow!
There are a few things to do in Stronghold 3, mainly the two campaign modes, multiplayer, free build mode, siege that mode and a map editor. There is NO single player skirmish, and Firefly has said that there are no plans to add that at this time which really stinks but is the only really bad thing I can think of.
Both campaigns are story driven, so I will start with them.
The stories are told through the use of black and white comics which are drawn very well and the voice acting is very solid. In-game voice acting for the many troops and farmers, peasants, wood cutters, etc is also quite solid. Some villagers are missing their voices (old men, children, mothers, innkeepers) and I do hope they add them in sometime down the road.
The military campaign tells your tale of harrowing flights, desperate victories and narrow shaves as The Wolf, the very man you thought to be dead when you pushed him over his own battlements with your father's sword in his chest ten years ago in the Original Stronghold, seeks your life. He has assembled new allies, a man only known as The Jackal from The East where the Wolf had been hiding, healing and plotting. The sons of his old allies, Duc De Puce (The Rat) and Duc Truffe (The Pig) are all out for trouble and have allied themselves with Duc Volpe as he seeks you- to cruelly, slowly, end your life in payment for those years ago.
The economic campaign tells of Queen Catherine's efforts to rebuild the Abbey and the surrounding area and nearby town after its destruction by you in the military campaign to rescue her from the clutches of one of Duc Truffe's sons who was a Bishop- the title given to him when he was just 15 and had been abusing that position from day one. She was there because it was a "safe house" during the war.
The free build is exactly that- a place where you can build, get a grip on how things work. The only thing that they may still put in, is the lack of the option to have an army attack you if you desire, or a list of events that you can have happen.
The multiplayer for the most part is very good, depending on the skill of the opposition. If you can't get anything going in time, you're very likely to lose which has happened to me a few times. There are syncing issues with the network that causes players to be timed out, but as this is going to get an attempted fix with the new patch, this part of the review is subject to change.
The "Siege that!" mode is the chance for you to try your hand at attacking or defending a historical castle.
The included map editor is for you to make your own maps, whether it be multiplayer, siege that or free build.
The gameplay for the most part I like. The mouse is fluid, smooth, and the accuracy of pointing your men and doing what you want them to do is 100%. The buildings and walls have a nice rugged look to them, the ability to turn them whichever way you like is a very nice addition, as is the new hovels that house your peasants. From two storey hovels that hold 10 people to a 1 person shack, you can add what you want when you need it. If you only need 2 more peasants, build a hut that holds two peasants, no need to worry about 6 other unneeded people. The new look to the farms, quarries and mines are also quite different, but make them look more realistic. Popularity has been changed. No longer does the popularity go from 0-49 (disliked) then from 51-100 (loved; and people start coming to your castle), instead what happens now is as long as you have hovels built and your popularity is in the green, people will come. If it goes into the red, people start leaving. You gain basic popularity by making sure that your peasants have enough to eat, they have ale to drink and church to go to. That makes them very happy. In-game events will increase or decrease popularity such as weather, (sunny) or rainy and stormy) disease outbreaks, mad cow disease, apple blight, marriages to name a few. The new weather, lighting, physics are excellent additions. It looks brutal to watch soldiers slide down a slope to land in a heap at the bottom, or archers lying slumped or hanging off the wall after being shot to death. Watching walls crumble looks fantastic, and bringing down gatehouses is also pretty awesome. Night fighting lends good tension to the missions where this is done as you have no idea where the enemy is and you have to find them before they reach your walls. The few small things that niggle at me are the expense at building most buildings. They'll cost usually around 50 wood each. Not that wood is hard to come by, thanks to the new wood camps that bring in about that amount of wood, but a lesser price would be better. Some of the missions are too scripted, as in there is only one way you can do it, instead of trying various things, though one mission thinking back on it would be wrecked if it had more wiggle room. Another thing that annoys me is the inability to get money by selling stuff. In Crusader and the original game, gold wasn't hard to come by once you started selling stuff. In this game it is harder to get money by doing that. Also, getting enough food used to be a small issue, but setting the food on ½ rations made it way easier to keep food. Now with the recent patch I believe they fixed that. Also missing are siege towers and laddermen, but again they may add this in a later patch.
The graphics are great. Watching an up close battle, you see sparks flying as metal strikes metal, small brief flashes of blood show up as soldiers are hit and die, the landscapes look great, night time makes great fog of war, every arrow and dart you see with ease. I don't know what people were complaining about.
The music is a mix of original, Stronghold 2 tracks and a few other odds and ends and new stuff and it works very well. Tense music where it needs to be tense and happier music when you are just building in peace. I swear I heard "The Black Riders" theme from the Lord of the Rings in one of the missions. It fit that particular mission so well.
Stronghold 3 is a good game, but because of the ongoing issues it keeps it from being great which may yet come. Now, I will say this: If you like the premise of attacking and besiegeing castles while trying to keep your people in line, don't be afraid of picking this up even though it is still a work in progress. It is a game that you easily lose track of time in.
Update: The free build now has various attacking armies and events you can throw at your castle, much better stability in single player and multiplayer and new maps have been added in both siege and multiplayer modes King of the hill and Capture The Flag.